Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;pt;Mon01;1;ar
Library Location
Mertola area; Beja, Portugal
Notes
The housing system in the area extending between the Lower Alentejo and the Algarve is characterized by a large scattering of small residential nuclei, sometimes located next to small abandoned villages (alcarias) dating back to the Islamic era, and at other times, superimposed on older villages. The ancient villages are organized almost exclusively in the form of clusters found in the highlands, between the fields of the Ourique and the northern foot of the Elmo and Calderao mountain ranges. The most significant examples of these fortified villages, inhabited without interruption until the Islamic period, consist of two distinct and complementary parts: an elevated area where a fortification wall surrounds an area of half a hectare, and at a lower level, a barn with an area of 12 to 20 thousand square meters for gathering and protecting livestock. Examples of this urban style are numerous, although they seem less significant than the examples of Al-Urich and Castro da Cola. We clearly see in Almodóvar the way the village has been organized since the Iron Age; On the plateau of Santa Rufina or Castillo Velho, we distinguish a possible nucleus of Salucia (a high area inside a fortress), which, through its circular shape, was the reason for the origin of the place name “Almodovar,” which means “rounded” in Arabic. At a lower level lies the supposed "Albacar" which may have later been transformed into a cluster of residential buildings. The Nodri Plateau (which means “guardian” in Arabic) refers to a control area that preceded the urbanization that took place during the 9th century AH / 15th century AD, which was organized on the north-south road that led to the Algarve River. Each fortified village enjoyed economic activity based on the cultivation of vegetable orchards and wheat fields and an area of forests and jungles. All the estates and villages (alkariyas) located within this area are linked by family or tribal ties that perform the same religious rituals and bury their dead in the same place. For many centuries, these villages have resisted the feudal masters by building and rebuilding their fragile walls made of stone and clay, while at the same time maintaining ancient and strong relations of solidarity.
Sample Text
Santiago Macias “Alcarrias (Villages)” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;pt;Mon01;1;ar
